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tv   Lou Dobbs Tonight  CNN  August 27, 2009 7:00pm-8:00pm EDT

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>> what is a rake? >> no. >> lisa? >> thanks, wolf. tonight, thousands of people line up to remember the lion of the senate as the body of ted kennedy lies in repose. and the public option, and the fate of president obama's health care overhaul. and with a record-breaking deficit, will the president be forced to break his promise and raise taxes on the middle class? but, first, the nation remembers senator ted kennedy, one of the country's most polarizing, but yet at the same time, one of his most respected leaders two days
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after his death. kennedy's body remains in repose tonight in a library in boston where mourners will pay their respects tomorrow. earlier his body was taken from massachusetts and the motorcades lined its way to boston. our own john king joins us from the kennedy presidential library. john, describe the scene. what is it like there tonight? >> it's a fascinating mix, lisa. inside you can see the senator's wife, the widow, still in there grieving. most are from massachusetts but some from overseas as they pass by the casket, the senator edward kennedy, it was more of a celebration. people are telling stories and caroline kennedy, bobby kennedy, members of the shriver family.
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and as you mentioned, the family came here later at 5:00 eastern time. he was brought inside by a military honor guard. the family had time to pray and reflect inside and now we're told more than 1600 members of the public have passed by. there are more than 12,000 people, we are told, in the line outside. there are supposed to be 12 hours of viewing over two days but the family says they will keep it opened as long as there are people waiting in line. now as we have two days of tribute, then the funeral mass on sunday, there is speculation, of course, as to what comes next for the state of massachusetts, what comes next for the big shoes senator kennedy had in washington, lisa, for the next 48 hours or so, it will be a chance to reflect on the legacy of the senate and see his family in the public eye and you're
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watching the pictures, the casket of senator kennedy in the foreground. members of the public passing by and paying their respect. quite a touching and remarkable scene here, lisa. >> it is pretty amazing, john. i understand that vicky kennedy, his widow, is still there shaking hands. it's been more than an hour that she's stayed there shaking hands and greeting people? >> we are waiting to see when she will leave. we have been led to believe that she may not stay for much of this. but we're told from the drive in they took the highway and when they came off the highway to boston, they took the farewell that senator kennedy wanted. he planned these final days and there's a picture of vicky kennedy there on your left and former congressman joe kennedy with the wife here on the right. senator kennedy passed this. they passed by the federal building where he had his office. they passed by the historic hall
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and we're told that mrs. kennedy, vicky kennedy, the senator's wife for over 17 years turned around and said, wow. some of them were wearing old kennedy campaign buttons from his presidential campaign and she clearly has decided to stay inside a bit longer, lisa, to say thank you. you can see that. she's reaching this crowd young and old, black and white and latino and black and asian and some in wheelchairs. you can see them walking through and mrs. kennedy is saying thank you very much and occasionally bowing down to thank people to pay tribute to her late husband, senator kennedy. >> so remarkable. she just lost her husband a short while ago. she's holding out white well. john, we certainly appreciate your time and certainly appreciate you sharing that insight with us. well, on saturday, he was be
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buried at arlington national cemetery. a private burial will mark one of the most prominent public lives, as you've heard john mention. barbara starr has this report. >> reporter: the final resting place for senator edward kennedy will be by these trees on the sloping green hill close to the grave of his brothers john and robert. arlington superintendent, jack metzler, showed us the sight. >> the senator will be buried here. >> and it will be a closed funeral, invited guests only. senator kennedy will receive military honors. >> reporter: military staff already working at the burial site but this area will close early saturday while the grave is prepared. it was just in the last few weeks that this site was selected. it's an area that senator edward
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kennedy knew well. >> he was here all the time. he would come on the anniversaries of the death, on the births, if he was available. he would just come. sometimes he would announce himself. sometimes he would be up here doing maintenance and we would find him up here. if he came to funerals of one of the soldiers from, let's say, his state, he would also, before he left the cemetery, always stop and have a prayer or a quiet visit here. sometimes he would stand five minutes and other times he would talk to the people until they quit talking to him. he would spend half hour, 45 minutes talking to people. >> reporter: president kennedy visited arlington cemetery a few days before he was assassinated in 1963. from the top of the hill, he looked out over the vista of this nation's capital and said it was so beautiful he could stay here forever. now all three kennedy brothers will be reunited on this arlington hillside. barbara starr, cnn, arlington
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national cemetery. >> and stay with cnn for live coverage tomorrow as senator kennedy lies in repose at the jfk library and then tomorrow evening for the memorial service there. some things are still unclear tonight who will replace ted kennedy in the senate and how fast the replacement process will happen. jessica yellin reports. >> reporter: before he died, senator kennedy wrote, i believe it is vital for this commonwealth to have two votes in the senate. he asked that state lobby change to allow the governor to appoint the kennedy seat as soon as it became vacant. the new senior editor echoed that request. >> he is asking simply for a temporary ability to appoint someone who will not run and not get in the way of people who will run and be there for a
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moment only. >> reporter: currently the state is required to hold a special election, and the earliest would be january. the issue that kennedy caused the cause of my life, they need every vote that they can get and the math is not good. with kennedy's death, the democrats are one vote shy of a 60 vote supermajority. senator robert byrd is ill and top democrats worry at least six of their own senators, plus, independent joe lieberman, could vote no depending on the contents of the bill. democrats have barely enough votes to pass health care reform. massachusetts governor is pressing lawmakers to change the law and give democrats that vote. >> i'm hope thath legislature will turn to it and turn to it soon. if they send me a bill, i will sign it.
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>> still it's unclear if state leader also go along. whoever fills the seat will have to vou not to run in the special election. >> and, lisa, whenever there is an election for the state, there will be obviously many people interested in running to replace senator kennedy. speculation has focused on his widow vicky and his son joe but people close to the family have dismissed both of those options saying that they are not considering a run. >> do you know when -- i know you said it's unknown at this.. do you know how soon they may make the decision? time is running out. we are just about on the door step here. >> right. they are being very noncomittal. the ball has to be moved significantly forward for them to even take the step to begin this. and so they -- it's all in the stage of negotiation right now, heavy lobbying, heavy negotiation. something will have to be
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resolved quickly for the decision to be made. >> jessica yellin reporting from washington, thank you for that report. well, another unknown tonight. is the future of the kennedy and tragedy with the death, this, too, will pass from the family. brian todd has our report. >> reporter: the kennedy family was often at this quest. a close kennedy associate tells cnn that the property could be given to a nonprofit organization, possibly to be made into a museum or another type of educational center. the plans are not yet final but the senator for some time talked to family members and friends about how to preserve the history. his store general says it reflects -- >> the extent to which the kennedys are so mindful of the
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kound tr country's history and the public's life of the nation. that they are intertwined. >> it was where the family gathered in 1960 to hear the final results of john kennedy's election results over nixon. when they came to the after shock of john's and then later assassination. it was also a place of contentment. james young spent nearly 100 hours interviewing for an oral history project. much of it was done where they shared simpler and happier moments. >> this is where i tried to jump with the umbrella up.
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and this is why we we used to play games. >> and senate disclosure records indicate family trusts are worth at least $14 million. and its power, something that they say could be worth holding on to for some members of the family. >> but he's not sure if they have the same connection to the place, the sense of growing up there, of being part of that landscape, as ted's generation did. so the idea of a museum there could be appealing to the young kennedys as well. brian todd, cnn, washington. and stay with us for more tonight on the late senator edward kennedy. why american students are falling dangerously behind the global competition.
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and with unemployment high all across the country, we'll take you to the unemployment capital of the nation. this is a county with a 30% jobless rate.
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that's right, you can get an extra 21 breakfasts, lunches, dinners, desserts, and snacks. that's 105 meals free. that's what guys like. "tell me, 'do this,' i do it, i lose weight." with prices as low as $12 a day, you'll save hundreds over other weight-loss programs. order now and get an extra three weeks of fantastic meals. that's right, 105 meals absolutely free. call or click now. unemployment is taking a heavy toll throughout the entire country. imperial county, california, is reeling from the jobless rate which is three times the national average. casey wian reports from central california. >> reporter: brandon is at a employment center. when she was working, the
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california resident only found part-time jobs. >> i'm ready to work. i'm eager to work. i have the energy. i have the skills. and nobody wants to use it. >> reporter: unemployment at imperial county is an epidemic. located in eastern california, on the u.s.-mexico border, they have always struggled with agricultural work and low levels of education. daniel is a high school dropout now working on his ged. >> it's been pretty hard here. not many opportunities for people that don't have diplomas. >> reporter: in july the unemployment rate topped 30%, the highest in the nation, with nearly one in three people looking for work, job training centers are busier than ever. >> i've seen cuts in my career but not this deep and the concern, the worry, they were all feeling was probably not as great as what we are feeling right now. >> like many places in the southwest, imperial county has
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suffered through a cycle that has devastated the construction industry. the budge jelt crisis has intensified the pain. employees at two state prisons here are on furlough three days a month. even the state funded training agency laid off three people in june. just when they needed it the most. last summer, recruiters passed out 10,000 applications with 250 precious jobs. >> we always try to help them in some way. if they keep coming into us as we see fit. >> reporter: and the stimulus money and out of control jobs, and it's just me with a set of numbers that is getting
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attention and we're trying to tell our story. look, we've got opportunity to do business. we have the water and we have the land. we've got people that want to work. and we want to get it turned around. >> imperial may lack jobs but it has plenty of land, heat, sun, and it's trying to attract renewable companies and provide more stable, economic growth in the future. casey wian, in el centro, california. evidence about how far behind our students are falling compared to below average in math and science. spending on those programs is also in decline. bill tucker reports. >> reporter: california has cut more than $6.6 billion in
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schools, oregon, $500 billion. that money originally intended to promote innovative educational initiatives and reforms is, instead, being used to fill budget gaps and save jobs, according to the american association of school administrators. >> school administrators find themselves behind a rock and a hard place. there's enormous pressure of positions to keep people as best they can. >> reporter: from a budgetary and educational standpoint, it's a strategy that makes sense. >> live within your means. we are forced with what i consider almost choices because 77, 80% of your budget will be in people, i think teachers and school secretaries and bus
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drivers and -- >> that part of the budget is education, benefits, and they are trying to get at some of the so-called fixed costs. >> our goal is to everything we can possibly and challenge things that might be fixed. but the problem is, are they really fixed and are there things that we can do about them not only in six months but in six years. >> reporter: and therefore easily cut is money that directly impacts school districts facing the choices of cutting teachers and increasing classroom sizes, cutting classroom resources, like computers and textbooks that are used for learning and consider charging students for all extracurricular activities, band, sports, even advanced placement courses. ee schools don't have years to figure it out. just this week a new analysis from the national education for statistics under scored the urgency of the situation. the analysis shows that american
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students are below average in math and science when compared to the international counterparts. not only below average but international scores are on the rise. american scores have stalled. >> and s.a.t. scores offer an unfortunate confirmation of that analysis. s.a.t. scores for the class 2009 were flat, lisa. they show the achievement gap that we keep talking about on the program, it's not over yet. it's expected to get less and stay stable for the next couple of years. >> you have people from the chamber of commerce and people with small businesses and educators and everyone agrees, you have the politicians and everyone agrees that this is a problem but yet we don't see solutions. there's so much talk but no action to improve it. >> exactly. >> thanks, bill. thanks very much for that report. coming up, the public option, will it be the down fall of the president's health care proposal? that's the faceoff debate.
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also, our continuing coverage of health care systems around the world. tonight we take a look at india. and residents of a new jersey town are outraged over a possible visit by bolivia's leader, gadhafi. this is a honda pilot. and this is the all- new chevy traverse. it has more cargo space than pilot, including the most space behind the third row. and traverse beats honda on highway gas mileage too. more fuel efficient and 25% more room.
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the area home to many relatives of the victims of the pan am flight of the 103 bombing. last week, the only man convicted in that attack which killed over 200 people was set free. he received a heroes welcome. >> three weeks ago, he came home to find his fence gone, a dozen of histories chopped down, and fast at work at store. maybe 40 vehicles inside that property. >> reporter: when the libby yan
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leader attends the assembly next month, in the community of even gel wood, new jersey, the libby yan community refuses to comment. and the terrorists to be in our neighborhood. >> he lives just a few miles away and lost his brother in the bombing of pan am flight 103. >> that was the last chapter. i didn't realize something else could be slapped in the face. >> if gadhafi is allowed to set up his tent in englewood -- >> as if 189 americans were not
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massacred and citizens were not and not only does the town lack the resources and security to deal with the libian -- >> they believe he has american blood on his hands and also they know a number of the families who lost relatives in the lockerbie bombing. so they -- >> congressman thinks they are prepared at their disposal to make sure that he does not stay here in englewood. meanwhile, the construction continues. >> that was jill reporting from new year see. coming up, succeed with the
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public insurance option included. and around the world, tonight we take a look inside india, where the life expect tan see is just 69 years old: ♪ need a lift? hey buddy, i appreciate the ride, you know. no problem. ♪ mind if i take a shortcut? yeah, sure. ♪ i knew the subaru legacy was the smart choice... what i didn't expect... was the fun. the all-new subaru legacy. feel the love.
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tonight we report on the life expect tan see of people in india. access to welfare and malnutrition continue to be the problems facing the indian. and 26% living below the poverty line. 456 million live on less than a dollar a day and children are malnourished. for many people, accessing that care is a challenge. >> in principle, they should be
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able to get a comprehensive free publicly-financed and publicly-provided health care. in practice, people have to pay quite a lot out of pocket to get any health care and it's often the main source of health care, even for the poor. >> a major problem in the public sector, lack of government funding. per capita, it's $109, compare that to 7,290 in the u.s. health care consumes 4.9% of india's gdp versus 16% in the u.s. the outcome? long lines, fewer facilities, and an inefficient staff. >> the supply of health care in india is on par with that in subsaharan african countries. >> according to the world bank, 75% is in the public sector where 95% is paid out of pocket.
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investing millions to create a medical infrastructure. >> rather than building great, big, everything for everybody, hospitals, they use a hub as a model where a hub is a general purpose. a very high-end hospital and the spokes are specialty hospitals where they provide cardiology and things like that. >> in the private sector, doctors are highly skilled and facilities are world class. indians are using technology like tele medicine to treat patients and using innovative procedures which attract patients from all across the world w a growing middle class, more and more can afford this type of health care but -- >> we have a much larger group of people who are poor and don't have the means and they don't have access to this kind of health care. but this is the nature of the challenge that india faces today. >> sometimes the success in
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india, infant mortality is down. it's less than half of what it was 20 years ago. in addition, life ex pact ant see, even though it's lower than in the u.s., in the last 62 years, india has reduced the absolute poverty by more than half, lisa. so it's an interesting dichotomy and quite a unique challenge. >> brooke, thank you for that report. we'll have reports of the health care system around the borld in india and turkey. more than one piece of the health care program, the public option a. government-run insurance program which would be an alternative to private insure ers. opponents say it would grant private insurers out of business that's the topic of our faceoff
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debate. michael, executive vice president of america's health insurance plans, he is opposed to a public option. gentlemen, why is the public option necessary? >> right now the insurance company is the one that interferes with the delivery of health care. we're going to have an efficient system that is cost effective and a government alternative that allows the pressure and to provide good services. >> is that necessary? >> what we need to do is fix the insurance market so we get everybody covered. make previous conditions a thing of the past. build on the system that works well for about 85% of americans. every survey shows strong satisfaction with private coverage. we need to build on that system, rather than put it at risk with a government-run plan. >> you both are saying that you
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want to put some kind of health care reform but you're defining it differently on what exactly reform is. bruce, there is perhaps a political reality. senator mccain earlier said this week it's not going to get through congress with the public option. even the house majority leader said the same thing. it might have to be dropped. is there a political reality that you have to face? >> well, the political reality is that 14,000 people a week are losing health care coverage in this count try. so there's a crisis. and congress and the general publ public believes that every man, woman, and child, ought to be covered by health care. and we have tremendous pressure to do something to reform the system. if we don't have a government option in the program, then we're not going to have an affordable program that will cover every man, women, and child in this country. and insurance industry is opposed to it because it has a monopoly on health care coverage and they don't want to
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compete -- you know, we've heard for years that the private sector can perform things more efficiently than the public sector. then why are they afraid of the option? >> do you see health care as a right in this country and do you think it's the government's responsibility to provide it? >> well, health care coverage is something that all americans need to have and there's a strong role, a critical role for the government in making that happen. we need to bring medicaid up to 100% of the federal poverty level. we need to build on the children's health insurance program. those are the two things that we've supported. medicare is on a path to bankruptcy. it's a critical program for seniors and it is hided towards bankruptcy unless we get health care costs under control. so the idea that, while medicare is under strain, headed toward bankruptcy, that we're going to move tens of millions of more people on to government care. it just doesn't added a up. and we don't have to go that
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way. the government-run plan is a road block to reform. you mentioned some of the comments from congressional leaders. it's a divisive plan that doesn't bring people together. you can fix the insurance market. >> you're talking politics and i'm talking health care for average americans. the fact of the matter is, medicare costs have gone up slower than private insurance costs. the government-run option is simply a way to provide an alternative to the insured. it doesn't cut the private sector out of health care. it just provides pressure on them to deliver a good product and affordable price and if, in fact, they can do better than the government, what will happen is people will move towards the private sector. our experience is that without pressure on the private sector, right now we've got pre-existing conditions. we have insurance companies standing in the way of people's medical care. we're going to have to have a
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government option the political reality, overwhelming majority of americans, both democrats, republicans, and independents, and voters agree that a government option ought to be offered and we have some of the most successful programs, medicare and the veterans administration, and health care in the world. >> michael s. that true? is there that widespread support for a public option? >> there's not. and unfortunately there's not and unfortunately, the focus on the divisive government-run program has brought down support for the health care reform. employers want it, labor wants it, and physicians and hospitals want it. health plans want it. but the focus on the government-run plan has drawn down support for health care reform and put health care reform at risk. >> we appreciate -- >> across the country and what the american people want and they are making this very clear, they do not want to give up their employer-base coverage and all of the analyses show that that is what will happen with
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the government-run plan. >> and we don't want them to lose their employer-base coverage. what we want, however, and it's clear in all of the statistics, is that we have in most markets, one or two insurance companies that control the overwhelming majority in that market and therefore the prices rise. the government has provided an alternative to that. it's not that people are reacting to the government option which really happened politically. it's that the public insurance industry as started a minority and made a lot of noise. all the polls show that the american people support that option and i believe we'll have a health care system passed by the congress of the united states and signed into law that will include that government option. that's what people want and that's what makes sense. >> let me say what the insurance industry is stirring up. we're running advertising right now on cnn in support of no more
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pre-existing conditions that's the reform that we're stirring up. >> gentlemen, we're going to have to take a break. we'll continue that discussion in the weeks ahead. thank you very much, bruce and michael from american health insurance plan. coming up, much more on the memorial for senator ted kennedy. also, charges that the pentagon screened reporters' coverage before allowing them to cover troops in afghanistan. and president obama's promise not to raise taxes on the middle class. that story is coming up next. ♪
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put our strength to work for you. learn how at northwesternmutual.com. there's no way to hide it. sir, have you been drinking tonight? if you ride drunk, you will get caught... and you will get arrested. the memorial services for senator ted kennedy are under
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way tonight. his body is relying in repose in the presidential library in boston. thousands of mourners, as you can see, are lining up and paying their last respects. the funeral and burial will take place on saturday. joining me now with more on some of the other stories that cnn is following tonight, brooke, what do you have for us? >> lisa, the stunning story developing out of northern california, the 1991 kidnapping of a california girl appears to be solved. the victim surfaced on tuesday along with her alleged be a duck for in northern california. her name is j.c. and he man was called in for his patrol officer for a completely unrelated matter. he reported kidnapping the girl and had two children with his
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kidnapping victim. tropical storm danny could strengthen into a storm on saturday. it's been a bit erratic and back out to california, firefighters contend with wildfire, the largest one right above the city of 2,000 acres there. unbelievable pictures. firefighters using helicopters, planes, bulldozers, just to try to contain those fires. so far, injuries have not been reported. some people who live in the area, as you can imagine, lisa, are trying to evacuate. those are just some of the stories that we're following tonight. new concerns tonight that president obama won't be able to keep his promise not to raise taxes on the middle class. many analysts are questioning how the government is going to pay down a multitrillion dollar
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deficit without cutting spending or raising more money in the form of taxes. louise schiavone reports. >> reporter: while it may have been months or even years in the making, the worst post world war ii has fallen on president obama's watch. the deficit is projected to be $9 trillion over the next decade. former congressional budget office director douglas trains the traditional debate. >> between the taxes that may be part of fixing this and the political people who know what campaign promises can mean and what arises when you break one. >> reporter: this was the promise from senator obama last year. >> no family making less than
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$250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase. not your income tax, not your payroll tax, not your capital gains taxes, not any of your taxes. >> the dilemma, says rudy, who was congressional budget director in 1980s, is that washington is reluctant to spend less, especially on social security, medicare, and medicaid. that, he says, means revenue increases are the most obvious answer. >> it's inevitable. taxes will go up for the middle class. that seems like the nature of the problem and everything i see points toward some sort of value added tax, like they have in europe. it's going to be extraordinarily unpopular. >> reporter: looking for ways to raise revenues, he responded -- >> we're going to do what it
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takes and what is necessary. >> reporter: despite the $1.6 trillion deficit shock, the white house still stands by its no new taxes pledge to the middle class and congressional and mid-class leaders say that they can take that pledge to the bank. analysts say that if the u.s. is serious about turning a fiscal corner and maintaining its standing among international investor, one way or another the government will have spend less and collect more. lisa. >> thanks, louise schiavone reporting from washington. joining me also from washington, special adviser for president george w. bush, ron christie, editor of opinion.com and cnn contributor, we're going to talk about the passing of senator ted kennedy. he fought for the little guy out there. in his passing, how is that going to change the dynamic, hank, on capitol hill? >> in 1964, lyndon johnson was
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able to get the solar rights act passed because president carter wanted it and ted kennedy's death will be the emotional current that drives the health care issue for president obama probably. >> james, do you agree with that? >> no, absolutely not. i think it's ridiculous. first of all, only a member of congress would think that spending a trillion dollars of our money is a way of when he dies. they ought to just lay a wreath, for crying out loud. he's not that loved and i don't think anything gets a slight negative for obama care. >> i want to read to you what house speaker nancy pelosi said on this. this is her statement on senator ted kennedy's death last night.
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she said, "ted kennedy's dream of quality health kwar for all americans will be made real this year because of his leadership and his inspiration." >> so, ron, is this going to make it easier for democrats to push through their health care agenda? >> no, i don't think so at all. i think james' analysis is spot on. when you look at the congressional districts around the country where people have gone out to their representatives and town hall forums where they flood the phone lines on capitol hill, there is not the support in the united states congress either in the house or the senate to pass a bill that has a public option or that costs $1 trillion out. there i think what the president will do or many congressional democrats will do is try to find a way to eulogize senator kennedy. they'll name a bill after him and say we're doing this for senator kennedy. the size and scope and breadth of what the president and senator kennedy originally outlined i think is too politically difficult to find the votes to make it pass. >> i can certainly stand up to the vote at the same time. let me put it a different way. the emotional currency will be
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there. something has to change. big pharmacy companies and everybody else can't keep winning the battle. that's what kennedy's life is b he's a rich kid that didn't have to do any of this. for that, he deserves our admiration. we'll see some kind of reform package. $1 trillion? who knows. kennedy's legacy will be in that new bill. >> big pharmacy companies, i believe, cut a deal with the obama administration. so let's see if they keep it. >> if they win the battle, your side wins. >> hank, talk about the numbers. how do you get the numbers there snt reality is they're going to possibly need 60 votes if they're going to do this on their own. they just lost one vote. how do you make the numbers work? >> not going to be easy. other things have happened that have had significant social gain over time weren't easy either. we're going to bite the bullet because it's an economic issue and the congress is going into an election and an economically turbulent time. >> go ahead, ron. >> i was going to sashgs the y, reality is it's not 60 votes.
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with the passing of senator kennedy and robert byrd in the hospital, they only have 58. at built for the senate to stop a filibuster, you need 60 votes. the democrats just don't have the votes with the vast, vast price tags upon these bills that we've been talking about. so it's going to be a very interesting debate to see how they can try to find a way to pass something that meets the must we are some of the congressional democrats who are more conservative yet still meets the muster of the more liberal members of the house. it will be a very interesting time the next couple months. >> they'll make up that massachusetts vote. the democrats who have an 8-1 majority in the massachusetts legislature are probably going to pass a law allowing the governor to appoint the replacement senator which, by the way, which is what the law was before 2004. they changed it to prevent romney from appointing someone. >> gentlemen, we have to take a break. we'll be back and have so much more with our panel in just a moment.
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take a look at this. this is a "washington post"/abc news poll. do you support or oppose changes to the health care system? want to highlight one number in particular -- 40% say they
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strongly oppose it. that compares to 27% saying they strongly are in favor of this. 40% strongly oppose. that's a big number to have to overcome. hank, how does the white house get over that hump when they have -- when congress returns in september? >> they may have to do this in a couple stages. they may have to come up with something that works now or not long term. but there will be a change. this can't continue. we cannot continue to spend this kind of money on health care per an annem. >> james, public option? do you think it will be kept in or is that going to be a compromise? >> i think that will be on the chopping block. doesn't sound like they have the support in certainly the senate and maybe not even the house. >> okay. and, ron, your thoughts? what's going to happen when congress returns in september? are they going to have to significantly modify this, scale this back from what the president wants? >> they're going to have to significantly pair this down, lisa. there is no way we can afford
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given the new budget estimates and the projection over the next ten years is $9 trillion. that is 9,000 billion. people are upset with this. the reason that 40% disapproval number is there is people are saying i can't afford to pay my bills. i can't afford to make ends meet. the government has to be more responsible. what hank said is probably right. they'll find smaller legislation, a couple thing thez can put together. but the public option is dead on arrival. >> gentlemen, thank you very much. ron christy from washington, d.c., james toronto and hank shinekoff. thank you very much. coming up at the top of the hour, campbell brown. what are you working on? >> hey there, lisa. tonight a girl kidnapped nearly two decades ago, as you reported earlier, she has been found alive. what happened to her? where was she during all of this time? we're going to have the latest details. plus, reaction tonight from her parents. we'll also hear from elizabeth smart who was also kidnapped then found alive and her father on what it's like to reunite with a child who has
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been missing. also, tropical storm danny, we're tracking its path along the east coast this weekend. that along with all our "mashups" of the other top stories at the top of the hour. >> thanks, campbell.
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we'll have complete coverage of the funeral of ted kennedy tomorrow. you're looking at live pictures from the j.f.k. library where he -- the body is lying in repose. reminder to join lou on the

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